Posted on 09/12/2009 6:32:05 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Despite the efforts restaurant chains from fast food to fine dining have made to add more-healthful items to the menu, consumers still aren’t buying. In a poll on chainleader.com, 82 percent of respondents say their better-for-you items are selling “lousy.” Recent research shows that customers cite economic factors as a reason for not purchasing healthful food—or as an excuse.
Too Great a Cost
Chicago-based foodservice consulting firm Technomic says its research shows the recession is hindering consumers’ healthy-eating behavior. Although more than half of consumers say they are more concerned about their eating habits than they were a year ago, 70 percent say that healthful foods are harder to afford; 53 percent say they buy less-healthful items because those items are cheaper; and 44 percent say their budget prevents them from eating healthful foods.
Says Technomic Executive Vice President Bob Goldin: “Consumers are economizing in their food expenditures and believe that one way to do so is to spend less on healthy foods. It’s an unfortunate development.”
Meal Skippers
A July survey by WorkPlace Media, a Cleveland-based firm that helps companies reach consumers at work, also shows that people are changing dining habits—often to less-healthy ones—because of the economy.
More than 30 percent of workers say they are making less money, and 75 percent are cutting their food and beverage consumption. For instance, 9 percent note they are skipping breakfast to save money, and 3 percent are skipping lunch.
Additionally, 34 percent of respondents say that they are choosing cheaper fast food over more-healthful options. At breakfast, 3 percent report they opt for fast food; at lunch, 8 percent do; and at dinner, 7 percent do.
The Least Physically Active Among Us
A person’s health depends on much more than what they eat. The Centers for Disease Control points to physical activity as a vital component.
• Women generally are less active than men at all ages.
• People with lower incomes and less education are not as active as those with higher incomes and education.
• African-Americans and Hispanics are generally less physically active than whites.
• Adults in Northeastern and Southern States tend to be less active than adults in North-Central and Western States.
• By age 75, one in three men and one in two women engages in no regular physical activity.
Source: “Healthy People 2010,” Centers for Disease Control
Buying food and cooking is cheapest yet, with the notable exception of McDonald’s $1 menu. (McChicken Sandwich, I’m talking to you.)
Poorboy me will occasionally go for one of those $1 chicken sandwiches, without the bun and with extra lettuce instead, if I’m in a rush. In moderation, it can’t be too awful for me.
Please.
Buy a big bag of beans, Ramen Noodles and other cheap food. You’ll eat good and live well.
McDonald’s Southwest grilled chicken salad is the on item that’s put me in a McDonald’s in years. I actually eat there with some regularity now. Before that came on the menu, it had probably been 5-6 years since I’d set foot in a McDonald’s.
You don't have to spend a lot of money to eat healthy and well. But we don't teach home-economics in school these days, so people are stupid about the calories they buy.
/johnny
Ascending Degrees of Laziness
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Ridiculous conclusions!
You’ll get far more carrots than Twinkies for the same money at a grocery store.
Fast food is consumed when someone wants a burger and fries. It’s just as cheap and easy to duck into a farmer’s market or grocery if one is so inclined.
Just propaganda designed to spark a movement to tax or outlaw fast food because apparently the sheeple are too stupid to choose appropriate food for themselves!
Those are not healthy foods. You will not be hungry, but you will be full of sodium and carbs. Fresh fruits and vegetables and lean meats are not cheap. especially if you are feeding a family.
When I was in grad school I was constantly broke. I discovered that Wendys had a salad bar all you could eat for only 99 cents. I would eat there once a day and there really was a lot to choose from including some meats. that would basically be my only meal for the day.
I guess other people must have figured out the same thing as me as they discontinued it. I know they lost money with me.
Yep. Two McDoubles for is a whole lot of calories for two bucks. I’ve had more than my share over the past year that served me well during busy afternoons of physical labor.
They just don’t call it home ec. My granddaughter has fashion (sewing)and culinary arts.
That makes a lot of different, very good meals, from homemade bread for sandwiches, to cinnamon rolls for breakfast, to smoked pork roast with beans and corn tortillas.
/johnny
Tell that to a young male that needs a diet of protein and fat and about 5 or 6 thousand calories of it a day.
http://www.calorieking.com/foods/topsearches.php
This site was just given to me by a dietitian at Johns Hopkins Hospital on Thursday of this week ... it's been quite handy so far.
Buy a big bag of beans, Ramen Noodles and other cheap food. You’ll eat good and live well.
The beans are low glycemic index carbs with protein and a good choice. IIRC, the Ramen noodles are high glycemic index. A better choice would be a bag of brown rice. Lower glycemic index. Oatmeal is another healthy, inexpensive choice. Buying boneless chicken breast on sale is another good source of healthy protein. Farmers' markets are a good source of fresh vegetables. This time of year zucchini is plentiful; many gardeners give it away. There are good alternatives; people need to look for them and think outside the box.
our fresh whole chickens were on sale last week for 69 cents a pound and the whole pork loins for less than 2 bucks a pound
I always thought women were more health concious than men, but it seems according to this I’m wrong....atleast in terms of being physically active.
Breakfast is the cheapest meal of the day. A big box of oatmeal is cheap (appx. $4.75) and makes 30 servings (16 cents per serving). Better to fill up on oatmeal at breakfast and skip McDonald's #1 meal, if you want to save money (better yet, take a peanut butter on whole wheat sandwich and a couple of carrots with you to work).
Uh...from the looks of MOST poor...they eat too much!
Fiber One bars at Costco come out to 35 cents each. One could live on 3 of these a day plus coffee. Humongous bag of broccoli is about $4.50.
Now you know how to live on less than $3 a day and keep your intestines happy. And, if you’ve ever seen someone die of colon cancer, you know that’s an important statement.
Lean meat is over-rated, health-wise. My cardiologist friend thinks the food I cook for her and her hubby is perfectly healthy, and some of it includes lard. My pies always use tallow for the fat.
Fats are an important part of a balanced diet.
/johnny
Beans are great for you and if you add rice you have a complete protein.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are not necesarily healthier for you than canned or frozen. Produce that is canned or frozen is usually grown very near the processing plant and processed the same day they are picked.
Supposedly fresh produce is picked, taken to a shed to grade, packaged or stickered and put on a truck that takes it to a warehouse from where it is shipped again. Then it sits in the produce section until you buy it and waits again in your crisper until you use it.
So unless you have a garden, I’d pretty much bet on canned and frozen.
Do you know Chef Jon Bonnell over here in Fort Worth by any chance? http://bonnellstexas.com
We just talked with him again at the Fiery Foods Show yesterday and I bought his cookbook for Mrs. 2ndDivisionVet.
Nothing is cheaper than vegetables. Vegetables with rice or beans with herbs and spices.
Who would that be, Michael Phelps? I think he can afford it.
Ask your butcher for his best pork fat and make your own lard, it is supposed to be vastly superior in flavor and without the worst of the health drawbacks.
I have found my pork fat but have not done the process yet but it only takes a half hour or so and it lasts for months if frozen.
I learned about it from a refried bean recipe and it sounded great. I will be doing it when the day time temperatures drop.
It used to be me and it fits many physical young men, Phelps needs 12,000 calories a day to keep himself going when he is active not 5 or 6 thousand.
A slab of beef liver big enough for 2 servings costs about a dollar. Try that instead of some other meat that costs 5x as much.
A big bag of beans or rice...instead of a little one-serving packet.
Canned vegetables instead of frozen.
Do you know how many bananas the typical supermarket tosses out every week?
A container of oatmeal instead of Lucky Charms.
Generic instead of brand name.
The dollar loaf of bread instead of the three-dollar loaf.
Buy the potatoes and do them yourself instead of purchasing frozen french fries and hash browns.
Don’t buy anything you might wind up throwing out.
No candy bars, no cigs, and don’t even look at those small soda bottles by the checkout.
Spaghetti!
I don't cook professionally any more except for occasional party gigs like the charity meal (proceeds to PawsN'Claws) I did for Heather Hays (Fox 4 news) a few years back.
Daily cooking in a commercial kitchen is hell on the knees and ankles. It's a job for young men.
/johnny
If they’re talking about junk food, it’s not cheap! What cheap foods are bad for you? Cheap food is stuff you have to actually make yourself.
Welcome to the Obamanation, Soylent Green for everyone, once the death panels are in place.....
35 cents each if you buy a big box of them. I guess poor people are supposed to be too stupid to buy in bulk. Maybe they do all their shopping at 7-eleven?
If we ever have a DFW Freeper Cookout, your cooking =o)
One area your list is wrong on, at least in this area as I can buy large bags of frozen potatoes at a lower price per pound that loose in bags.
Also can get them in assorted sizes either chopped into inch size cubes or much larger and they tend to be better quality potatoes too.
I made several days worth of food after buying inexpensive bulk stew beef. I marinated it in $2.00 red cooking wine, bay leaves, and garlic. Browned it in a pan, tossed it a slow cooker, added some beef stock, inexpensive vegetables, and herbs from the garden. It was delicious.
I have a lot of recipes that are made in bulk with cheap food and they taste better than most restaurant food.
I use everything but the squeal, and make my own sausages, lard, roasts, chops, and bacon.
I'm thinking I'm going to have to break out the old 30-30 and pay for a hunting license and go get my own.
/johnny
Buy them by the 10lb bag, they’ll last all week.
You must be from Texas! Sounds like my daily diet too...
How did young men exist before Twinkies? They had good, wholesome meals at home. Made from scratch. Food bought fresh almost daily since they didn't have refrigerators. No Twinkies. No junk food. I remember going to the store almost everyday with my mom. We had an "ice box" that kept stuff cool, but nothing could be frozen.
/johnny
Tell that to a young male that needs a diet of protein and fat and about 5 or 6 thousand calories of it a day.
Where did you get that figure? According to the calorie intake calculator a 15-20 year old male, 6 feet tall and 185 pounds with high exercise would need less than 3500 calories. Few in our society get that much exercise. With light exercise, the requirement drops to about 2600. Most nutritional experts recommend a diet of at most 20-30% high quality protein, 40-60% low glycemic complex carbohydrates, and 30-30% fat - saturated fat and avoiding trans fats. This is more expensive than cheap, highly processed junk. However, eating well pays diviends in lower health costs.
I grow my own, usually, but we got hit with the blight this year, so I'm not doing much with potatoes right now.
Plans are for planting a lot of potatoes and onions in the new place next spring. We'll see how they do here.
/johnny
A single person will have food rotting in the refrigerator if they buy spinach, carrots, broccoli, artichokes, pasta, beans, cabbage, beets, tomatoes, bell pepper, turkey, ham, surimi, blueberries, rasberries, blackberries, strawberries, pineapple, dried cranberries, chopped walnuts, sunflower seeds, cantaloupe, watermelon and cottage cheese. However, the health benefit of loading all the above up on a salad bar plate outweights the $15 cost.
I think the Cajun Cafe bourbon chicken with rice an dbeans and mixed veggies is pretty healthy. Mall food.
Oh nonsense.
Most stores have a couple of kinds of meat, veggies and fruit on sale every week. I know because I tend to keep an eye out and stock up. I freeze the meat and either can or freeze the veggies and fruit. This tends to cut my bill by a third at least.
If you are talking prepared food then yeah it is more expensive but if you know how to do even basic cooking then this is so much bull.
You know, I never bought the “healthy food is expensive” concept, until hubby went on the South Beach diet. That diet is basically low fat, low carb, slow digesting food. And we went to the supermarket and spent a whole lot more than usual.
So, carbs really are cheap, proteins are expensive.
Buy your beans in bulk.
https://www.usaemergencysupply.com/food_storage/bulk_beans_legumes.htm
100 lbs of pinto beans for $95.94 ((scroll way down))
Good for you but that would not get me through the week
It’d been cheaper to get a paper shredder and a few gallons of V-8 juice.
/johnny
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